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Ask Slashdot: How Do You "Unwrap" e-Gifts?

Posted by samzenpus on from the virtual-stockings dept.

theodp writes "With all of the content that can be delivered electronically — e-books, music, apps, movies, e-gift cards, tickets — the percentage of Christmas gift giving that's digital is growing each year. However, the e-gift unwrapping user experience on Christmas morning leaves much to be desired. In addition to providing old-school mail delivery of gift cards, Amazon offers a variety of other options, including e-mailing a gift card on a specific day with or without a suggested gift, posting it on someone's Facebook Wall, or allowing you to print one for personal delivery. Another suggestion — using USB drives — harkens back to the days of burning CDs with custom playlists for last-minute gifts, but you'll be thwarted by DRM issues for lots of content. So, until Facebook introduces The Tree to save our e-gifts under until they're 'unwrapped' on Christmas morning with the other physical gifts, how do you plan on handling e-gift giving and getting?"

52 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Put it in a card and envelope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Your victim will never suspect that the envelope does not contain cold hard cash.

  2. One answer by SecondCobra · · Score: 3, Informative

    We have made rolls of Christmas paper with a message written inside telling our sons what they can go and download. That way they get a physical thing under the tree along with the other presents.

  3. E-gifts by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Insightful

    , how do you plan on handling e-gift giving and getting?"

    I pirate. Most of what's "e-gifted" is just supporting the entertainment industry; and I'm loathe to support them until they clean up their act with all the DRM crap, manipulating the market prices, and throwing people in jail for trivial crap, as well as co-opting our entire legal system and feeling entitled to profits. So... I just give people cash or socks. Because holy shit, adults love socks. And cash. Everyone does, actually.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:E-gifts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's "loath" - an adjective. "Loathe" is the verb .

      Merry Christmas,
      The Grammar Grinch

    2. Re:E-gifts by todrules · · Score: 1

      I don't agree that that e-gifts mainly support the entertainment industry. There's tons of various e-gifts, including such companies like NewEgg, ThinkGeek, and even Kickstarter. At least then you know that the cash isn't going to support the entertainment industry. Second, you think that you don't support the entertainment industry by pirating, but you're still listening to their damn music and watching their damn movies!! If you truly don't support it, then don't even pirate. Your just as bad as the people who buy their crap.

    3. Re:E-gifts by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Guess what.

      Despite what you think, the mere fact that you created something does NOT mean that you are "entitled" to profits.

      If your business model requires a law to be passed that prohibits billions of people from exercising a trivially easy behavior that you would never personally notice otherwise, then your business model is shit.

      --
      This space available.
    4. Re:E-gifts by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      I pirate. Most of what's "e-gifted" is just supporting the entertainment industry; and I'm loathe to support them until they clean up their act with all the DRM crap, manipulating the market prices, and throwing people in jail for trivial crap, as well as co-opting our entire legal system and feeling entitled to profits.

      So... why pirate? Why not ignore it and enjoy something else?

      You do realize that you're just encouraging the problem, right? Because they create something you want, and instead of giving them what they want in exchange, you say it's worthless, and then expect them to take it lying down. I'm sure if someone pirated the Linux kernel (by say, not releasing the source code), you'd be upset. Yes, you can pirate Linux by ignoring the GPL and violating the de-facto copyright law. You can pirate most open-source that way because by not agreeing to the freer terms in the license, it reverts back to "all rights reserved" and what copyright grants.

      You're better off ignoring what the entertainment industry produces and enjoy the works of the indie bands, moviemakers, game creators and what not. Because the industry won't change unless they see success can be had without draconian measures, and piracy is not the way to do it.

      Hell, if you want to pirate, go buy the DVD and download the DRM-free version, but that requires supporting the industry. And while they may not be entitled to profits, you're not entitled to enjoy their works just because you don't agree to their terms.

      There's plenty of free and open indie entertainment out there that's DRM free and cheap to enjoy. Why not encourage those creative people by enjoying their work?

    5. Re:E-gifts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is trivially easy to call a plumber and then refuse to pay him for his time and labor. His business model requires laws prohibiting people from that behavior. I guess his business model is shit.

      Or maybe we have laws in place to ensure that people are justly rewarded for their time and labor. I don't know why you think content creation should have less protection under the law than other industries.

      You could argue (and I would agree) that the rewards are often not "just" and often not going to the creator of the content. But you're not doing that here. You're making idiot blanket statements and throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

    6. Re:E-gifts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As time goes by I'm increasingly nauseated by the "I pirate because... well... fuck you your business model sucks". It's just a really lame excuse to download things for free under the guise of slacktivism. It was pretty lame when we were younger and it was our excuse, and it's even worse now.

      Buy a thing or don't. But don't bullshit us... we've been around for a while.

    7. Re:E-gifts by crossmr · · Score: 1

      I'm increasingly nauseated by the people who can't seem to understand that in certain circumstances piracy is a victimless crime and then trying to force their morality on others.
      If an individual would under no circumstances purchase the product in question, and the rights holder loses no resources in their making a digital copy, where exactly is the damage to anyone occurring here?

      There is no mythical lost sale, there is no loss of bits and bytes. Some hurt feelings, but their attempts to manhandle various world governments hurts my feelings, so I'd say we're even.

      Now, if the individual is truly stealing simply because they don't want to spend the money on that, that is one thing, but you really have no idea who is being cheap and who simply would never spend money on the product in question.

      Their business model may or may not be broken but the fact remains that how they are doing it isn't making them happy. The entertainment industry still seems to have lots of money to throw around, so it seems to be doing fine. If they were truly losing so much money you'd think they'd be broke and destitute from all the years of bitching they've done.

      The only thing I think that might be broken is their greed meter and their inability to logically think about what is happening when someone downloads something. I can guarantee you there has never been a single business or person harmed by piracy and I'd dare anyone who claims they have been to prove it. I'm not saying some company claiming 90% of the copies of their game is pirated so they closed their offices or killed the office dog because they couldn't afford to feed him. I'm claiming definitive proof that
      1)the people who pirated the product would have actually paid cash for it
      2)no sales were generated by people who used piracy as a demo and then turned around and bought it later because of that
      3)the money they would have generated from #1 would have kept them afloat

      They won't be able to prove a single one of those. They could make suppositions and guesses and theorize into the night, but they'd never be able to actually prove that piracy did any genuine damage to their business.

    8. Re:E-gifts by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      And, you'd better watch out, you better not pout, 'cause Grammar Nazi will soon point YOU out!

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    9. Re:E-gifts by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      It was an ugly baby anyway. http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/The_cde6eb_2496453.jpeg That bathtub should have been dumped long ago.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    10. Re:E-gifts by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 1

      "It is trivially easy to call a plumber and then refuse to pay him for his time and labor. His business model requires laws prohibiting people from that behavior. I guess his business model is shit."

      I don't use plumbers. I buy my own "blank" washers from Home Depot and burn my own new washer-fixed-faucet by unscrupulously copying the knowledge and behavior of that plumber.

      I'm such a bastard.

      --
      This space available.
    11. Re:E-gifts by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      Content creators. You make something once, and you expect to be paid for it for the rest of your lives? You expect that your children, your grand children, even your great grand children should get royalties derived from your genius? You sniveling twats - go get a real job. And, stop feeding the copyright trolls who belong to RIAA and the like. You're not the fucking geniuses that you think you are. You need a good de-worming, like any stray dog. You're infested with parasitic lawyers, agents, and other undesirable creatures.
      May you get your Christmas wish.. and as a result, never get the benefit of enjoying any quality artistic rendering ever again.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    12. Re:E-gifts by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Actually, quality artistic renderings are in short supply. The MPAA certainly isn't supplying any. The RIAA affiliates supply very little. Quality art comes from independents and little-know or unknown artists. These are people who tend to agree with my feelings. They don't expect to live fat off the hog for the rest of their lives, after doing a few dozen performances. They stay hungry, just like John and Jane Doe, so they keep working to improve.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    13. Re:E-gifts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So it is primarily those who agree with you who produce quality art. Huh.

      I'm a little-known artist. People who know love my work. I'm all for copyright. Without it, why am I bothering? Yeah, I would probably do this for free, but the number of people who I would allow to see it I could count on one hand. It's only because I expect I can do this for a living that I publish. Take that away and fuck it. I don't want to create something once and rest on my laurels for the rest of my life. I see that (or similar: rehashing the same thing over and over again) in artists and it disgusts me. I will always work to improve my craft because it gives me great pleasure.

      But I do expect to be fairly compensated for my work. Copyright makes that possible. If you want to see my work, I expect you to pony up. If there is no environment where that is possible (as you are advocating), you're simply not going to see my work.

    14. Re:E-gifts by girlintraining · · Score: 1

      Despite what you think, the mere fact that you created something does NOT mean that you are "entitled" to profits.

      I hope this "You" does not refer to me. I'm a pirate; I'm the last person you'd expect to give a damn about profit.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    15. Re:E-gifts by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 1

      And if I reproduce a digital file, then the companies that make their money reproducing and distributing digital files haven't done any labor.

      A digital file has ceased to become "product." They can be reproduced and distributed by the tens of millions for virtually no effort or cost.

      When something can be had by every human being that easily it becomes immoral to create artificial scarcity via global laws invading private communications, etc.

      What you and others are doing is advocating that we take the process that for about 100,000 years has led to everything human culture means - agriculture, towns, housing, fire, cooking, all invention, all art, language... and deciding that the process that worked to take us from the caves to global civilization is not good enough.

      You're advocating taking that process and privatizing it. Why? Because some people who had the money to lobby to get laws passed felt it was important that they get MORE money.

      --
      This space available.
    16. Re:E-gifts by crossmr · · Score: 1

      All horseshit. If there's no value in having a thing then there's no reason to download it.

      People download these games and play them. They download these movies and watch them. They download this music and put it on their ipods. Whether or not they later thought it would have been worth purchasing legally is largely irrelevant.

      There isn't though. The only value is in that, to them, it's free. Any other price and they wouldn't download it.
      For them the product is worth no monetary compensation. if they can't download it for free, they'll go without and be no worse off for it. You can't translate this or analogize it though.

      I asked where the damage was, and I see you've failed to show any. In order for something to be a crime there has to be some kind of damage done to the victim, and it's non-existent. So why exactly is this a crime? What about in places where it's perfectly legal behaviour, is this then suddenly "ok"?

    17. Re:E-gifts by crossmr · · Score: 1

      Why not? That is how the entertainment industry presents theirs.
      1 download = 1 lost sale as far as they're concerned, despite the fact that they cannot prove that. They couldn't even prove that 1 million downloads = 1 lost sale.
      My proof is in the absence of proof from the other side. I made no blanket statement that every single incident of piracy was victimless.
      I said:

      in certain circumstances piracy is a victimless crime

      Those being the case where the person never would have bought the item in the first place and only uses it because it can be obtained for free and in obtaining and using the product the individual doesn't use any resources from the company (like an online service they didn't secure properly)

      How about in a country/region where the rights holder refuses to make the product available? Do the people there have an obligation to wait months, years, or until the end of time for something to be made available?

  4. uh, what was that line again? by swschrad · · Score: 1

    "...you'll be thwarted by DRM issues for lots of content."

    this IS slashdot, right? and you really typed that???

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
  5. If sociology is any indicator... by Kergan · · Score: 2

    Sociology usually isn't any indicator to anything, but in this case it has interesting things to say: Mauss and follow-ups suggest that the exchange and the unwrapping of the gift is just as important, as a social event, if not more, than the gift itself.

  6. Digital subscription by MrEricSir · · Score: 1

    Got an email notification that I received a gift digital subscription to a magazine the other day. I'm waiting until Christmas day to redeem it so it feels more Christmassy.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  7. It's a new technology by notknown86 · · Score: 1

    It's a new technology and it needs a new process.

    Personally, I prefer to relocate the element of surprise such that it falls after the delivery of gift.

    The wife looks briefly away from the screen to profusely thank me for the e-gift voucher. A couple of clicks, and... WHAM! Goatse!

  8. Received? by Bill+Dimm · · Score: 1

    Related question: If you have something like an Amazon e-gift card emailed to someone, how do you know it was received and not simply eaten by a spam filter?

    1. Re:Received? by Bill+Dimm · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ask them.

      That's a little hard to do without rubbing in their faces the fact that they (perhaps) weren't grateful enough to thank you for the gift.

    2. Re:Received? by jtmach · · Score: 1

      Related question: If you have something like an Amazon e-gift card emailed to someone, how do you know it was received and not simply eaten by a spam filter?

      Specific to an Amazon e-gift card. Amazon sends you an e-mail when the recipient redeems the card.

    3. Re:Received? by Bill+Dimm · · Score: 1

      I have never received anything from Amazon about an e-gift card being redeemed, and I've been giving them out to contractors that work for me for years.

  9. My favorite! by pieisgood · · Score: 1

    Very carefully.
    (A good joke in proof based math classes, "how do we prove this theorem, class?" .. it always got laughs and mean looks)

    --
    Eat sleep die
  10. print and download by hraponssi · · Score: 3, Informative

    bought some games for the kids on steam. printing a letter from santa for them and downloading the stuff when they are sleeping. then we all pretend the elves did it. of course if steam crashes tonight i will still pretend the elves did it but left the download instructions.

  11. Obviously... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

    Obviously you should go with a passworded archive. Then it has to be opened, and can't be opened until the password is given. You could even put some other data in there to make it hard to know the size of the file until opened.

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  12. e-gifs by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    No thanks, i want to actual hold the stuff in my grubby little hands.

    The closest id get to an e-gift is a visa type gift card ( wont get a store card, they are too restrictive ). But cash is still better, and there is no fee.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    1. Re:e-gifs by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      No thanks, i want to actual hold the stuff in my grubby little hands.

      That's the right answer.

      I want gifts to be something that I care about, given to someone I care about.

      The kind of equivalency-gifting that goes on with most people here in the US is anathema to me and my family and friends. We give personal gifts to the people who are closest to us, and we secret-santa everyone else. Gift cards and e-cards are considered a failure of the imagination. And if someone needs money, we don't make them wait for Christmas for our generosity. The only ones who get any cash presents are the high school or college age kids among us, because their desires, their tastes, tend to change at a frequency beyond our comprehension.

      The shopping, the expectations, the commerce masquerading as generosity, are the least enjoyable parts of the whole thing for me.

      Now that we're the grownups, we get to make the rules, and our rule is "No Bullshit at Christmas". Just an honest effort to make one another a little bit happy, even if just for a moment.

      Oh yeah, and singing. Everybody sings at Christmas. No excuses.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:e-gifs by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

      I maintain an Amazon wishlist for things I would like as gifts...and I don't put any digital items on it. I enjoy getting a physical item; there's just something more meaningful about receiving an actual book than an incomprehensible string of 25 alphanumeric characters.

      --
      If you can't convince them, convict them.
    3. Re:e-gifs by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Obviously, you have never had the "pleasure" of being serenaded by my wife!

      Actually...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  13. Encryption by MrKaos · · Score: 1

    It's the wrapper that keeps on giving.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  14. Re:e-gifters are lazy givers. by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    Not always.

    There are many people that no longer want physical 'media' items such as books and CDs/DVDs but still like to get a 'book' as a gift.

    But yes, for 'children' getting a small 'related' gift then shoving in a card isn't a bad idea. For adults, its a waste of money.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  15. Wrapping by Azure+Flash · · Score: 5, Funny

    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r0001
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r0002
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r0003
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r0004
    ...
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r8999
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r9000
    gift.zip.ace.7z.tar.bz2.iso.apk.pea.dmg.cab.r9001

    Have fun! Hope you enjoy it!

    1. Re:Wrapping by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That was funny, but you completely missed out on adding some entirely antiquated formats such as:
      LHA, ARC, PAK, SIT, LZW...

      Urk. Yes, SIT too was a huge problem for a long time on Macs, let alone the poor PC users who sometimes needed to receive that format... receiving large compressed files from PC users was a pain, but even "native" mac formats was excruciating. Archives also got transmitted in HQX and SEA containers that small and large programmers alike loved. One of the things IE4+ for the Mac did nicely was offering some transparent, Mac-only expansion support of those two. It would have been nice if it could have handled ZIP because Macs from the pre-OSX days never got a native tool for Zip files.

      The parallel experience was to use the SIT format and deal with files that had to be "Unstuffed". It was a confusing experience for me as a PC user, especially when the final package was some disk image file silently got dropped on the desktop. The wrapping issue is much worse that I can coherently discuss this late at night, but I had suppressed those memories for nearly 10 years.

      At some point you were forced to install Stuffit Expander Enhancer (not to be confused with Stuffit) to deal with internet file transfers. There was some naming issue similar to the confusion between Adobe Acrobat (Writer) and the free Adobe Reader... I never want to revisit those models again on a desktop. Winzip ate up quite a bit of profit before Windows XP came out, and I'm glad most of those formats are gone... I still get annoyed at those fools using RAR files on chan sites. Music file sharing would have failed to gain traction with the barely-savvy groups 10 years ago had MP3 needed to fight the same domination wars against MP2, AAC, OOG and WAV all in the same era.

  16. wrap a printout in a gag box by Khopesh · · Score: 2

    Find a spare box (limited only by the available amount of wrapping paper, big boxes with obsurd labels ("beauty care" for a dude, "Windows 8" for a Linux advocate, or perhaps "Extreme Chores"). Print out your gift or some ad for your gift, maybe use a card or something, put it in the box. Extra points for lots of packing ~peanuts. Wrap box, label, etc.

    I once did this. I asked the clerk at Best Buy if I could have one of the empty Windows Vista display boxes. I got it. Real gift went inside. The receipient knew how adamantly against Vista I was, so it definitely turned her head.

    --
    Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
    1. Re:wrap a printout in a gag box by matskralc · · Score: 1

      my wife got a copy of the da vinci code at her office's white elephant party. so, for my college-age brother who couldn't care less about, well, reading (and certainly not pseudo-historical fiction), she hollowed it out, and inside that will go the gift card trap (one of those little plastic cases with a maze you have to work the ball through to the switch in order to open and get what's inside) containing the printout for the newegg gift card.

  17. isn't it obvious... by 3seas · · Score: 1

    you use ehands and epull the epaper epart.

  18. Re:Handle as spam by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

    e-gifts are hex strings to be entered at checkout time at a web site. They are not e-card.exe trojans, we got over that 15 years ago.

    --
    Learn to love Alaska
  19. Special circumstances only by ilsaloving · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Call me old school, but the whole point of Christmas is to be together with loved ones. The idea that everyone is sitting around the tree in their pajamas, and suddenly whip out their iPhones 'n whatnot to check their email to see what presents they got, just seems.... tacky.

    Unless the product in question could *only* be delivered via email, or if you were sending a gift to someone very far away and it's just more realistic to do it that way, then virtual presents just feels wrong. If you don't want to give someone a physical for some reason, then make a donation to a charity in their name or something.

    Humans are naturally physical and a huge amount of our interaction with the world revolves around touch. It's already been well established, for example, that people value software far less when it's not delivered in a box than when it is. Not only will people who recieve a virtual gift be virtually guaranteed of cherishing it less, but people will be thinking (subconsciously or consciously) that the giver was somehow cheap, in some vague unidentifiable way.

    1. Re:Special circumstances only by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2

      I'll tell you how *I* unwrap an "e-gift"...

      Usually it requires a $25 or $50 credit card payment....

      And I get to keep the video...

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  20. Laziness pays off now by Hyperhaplo · · Score: 1

    This year I went online, found things the people who live in other states will probably like, and put their name in the shipping information.

    One has worked out quite well, except that she didn't exactly know it was from me. Email fixed that.

    Still waiting to see if the others got their parcels..

    --
    You have a sick, twisted mind. Please subscribe me to your newsletter.
  21. Don't look an e-Gift horse in the mouth... by Qubit · · Score: 1

    Or something like that. Although online, it's probably more like "don't look a goatse in the..."

    Well, you get the picture.

    --

    coding is life /* the rest is */
  22. Late? by DarwinSurvivor · · Score: 1

    Isn't this a little late? Even on the west coast you only have a few hours left to read all the suggestions, weed out the jokes and goatse links (1 already on this page), pick your favorite solution and actually wrap your gift. That's assuming you've even BOUGHT the e-gift already!

  23. Oh? Intresting point by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 1

    However, you pretty much condemned ALL business plans from the sex industry, to renting, to selling.

    Laws HAVE been introduced that gave us the right to our own bodies and the right to own land and property. Without such laws, selling and renting are pointless as the "customer" can just take what he wants.

    Ah, you mean only those laws YOU are against are shit, not the laws that protect YOU! Gotcha!

    All laws are artificial constructs created by man to protect something.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    1. Re:Oh? Intresting point by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 1

      Yes, laws have given us the right to our bodies and our possessions and our land.

      Absolutely NONE of which were intellectual "property" laws.
      Intellectual property law does NOT recognize information as an owned possession. (information, not the information carrier. You own that CD).

      Copyright law is derived from the understanding that release of information naturally passes that information on to all who access it, that this is normal, good, and necessary, that this is the basis for the development of human society.

      And to ENCOURAGE people to create works that will obviously and necessarily become part of the commons and property of ALL, it might be good to try an incentive program - an artificial TEMPORARY monopoly for a short period of time during which the creator can solely recoup funds.

      Which will expire and let knowledge go to it's natural state - property of all.

      And that this temporary "copy right" therefore exists to serve the public good, NOT the creators, and that if it ceases to benefit primarily the public, then it can and should be changed.

      Sex industry? I have condemned their practices only if they try to patent human genitals and photos and sex and women's bodies.

      NO business model is "entitled" to profits. They have a right to TRY to be profitable.

      I write music. I give it away free as I don't believe in copyright. However, I have the RIGHT to try to sell downloads of it too. I am not entitled to that plan being financially successful.

      --
      This space available.
  24. Give a real gift by tompaulco · · Score: 1

    'nuff said.

    --
    If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  25. Rip! Tear! Shred! by LongearedBat · · Score: 1

    That's the best part, preferably with the giver watching, irrespective of which role one has.